Papal Jam

Remember Bridgegate, the local traffic scandal that continues to affect national politics? Sal Cowan, the director of traffic operations at the New Jersey Department of Transportation, does, but barely. “We heard about it on the news, like everyone else,” he said last week. “It affected people in Fort Lee, but, honestly, for the rest of the state it was business as usual. Now, a blizzard? Closing the Pulaski Skyway for repairs? That’s when I’m pulling all-nighters.” He gestured around a room full of computer screens—the Traffic Operations Center, in Cherry Hill. He added, “In this line of work, you keep a sleeping bag and a food supply in your truck at all times.” From the T.O.C., technicians oversee state roads throughout South Jersey; a larger facility, in Woodbridge, focusses on the northern half of the state. New Jersey is a two-headed beast, traffic-wise, with delays clustering near New York and Philadelphia. Pope Francis, who has attracted enormous crowds in several world capitals, will visit both cities later this month. Time for some traffic problems in Cherry Hill. “I’d equate it to a Super Bowl and Hurricane Sandy rolled into one,” Cowan said. “I told my wife, ‘Don’t expect to see me for a week.’ ”

During a recent afternoon shift at the T.O.C., four engineering technicians were on duty, each sitting in front of four computer monitors. Some screens showed real-time traffic maps; one was empty except for its desktop background, a cast photo from “GoodFellas.” A wall was devoted to twenty-four more screens—one tuned to Wolf Blitzer on mute, the others rotating through live feeds from bridges and intersections. A call came over the radio: debris on I-295, near Exit 29. One of the technicians, John Tronco, dispatched a Safety Service Patrol truck. Then, toggling between screens, he selected a message for the digital sign a few miles up the road. He scrolled through a menu—“Downed Tree,” “Disabled Bus”—and chose “Debris Spill.” “That’s a fairly common one,” he said. “God help me if I ever have to use ‘Earthquake.’ ” As for what the boards will say during the Pope’s visit—“Papal Jam”? “High Mass Transit”?—Cowan said, “It’s one of many things that are still under discussion.”

Starting on September 22nd, when Francis lands, the T.O.C. will be open around the clock. The staff will be augmented with agents from the state police, New Jersey Transit, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, and the Turnpike Authority. “It’s better to have everyone in the same room in case something goes wrong, which something inevitably will,” Cowan said. “If 95 is backed up as far as the Quaker Bridge Mall, which some computer models are predicting, and I start planning a detour route to get people to, say, 130, I want someone from Bridges in my face, going, ‘You can’t send ’em that way—that bridge is gonna collapse!’ ”

Cowan pulled out a binder—“Monmouth County Traffic Incident Diversion Plan”—and ran through a few doomsday scenarios. He mentioned Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin, and Walt Whitman (the bridges, not the people) and used phrases like “avalanche of cars.” When the Pope visited Manila, in January, six million people showed up, despite torrential rain. This will be the first Papal visit to Philadelphia since 1979. The Popemobile will be a modified Jeep Wrangler.

One to two million people are expected, but who knows? A priest will lead twenty parishioners on a hundred-mile walk from Baltimore to Philadelphia. “If it were me, I’d watch it on TV, where the view is better,” Cowan said. “These people are pilgrims, and God bless ’em for trying. Still, at a certain point, you just go, ‘If you’re in a car, there’s only so close I can get you.’ ” If roads clog, Cowan can issue creative detour instructions. He can send supply trucks to fix flat tires, or tow trucks to clear abandoned cars. “Or I can flush a road”—keep the traffic lights green, allowing traffic to thin out—“although that is just robbing Peter to pay Paul, because a green light is a red light somewhere else.”

The Department of Transportation is running radio ads encouraging people to use public transit or to stay home. It has also set up a Web site, popenj.com, with disaster-movie-style taglines (“Roads will be saturated.” “Bridge closings could create paralyzing gridlock”) and maps covered in red. “Look, I hope I’m wrong,” Cowan said. “I hope we’re sitting here bored and eating pizza and feeling stupid. But it’s better to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” ♦

Andrew Marantz, a contributing editor, has written for The New Yorker since 2011.